Ritual Magic
A ritual is a channeled magical effect of either Natural, Divine or Arcane means. Rituals take time to cast. Unlike a wizard’s spells or a cleric’s prayers, which can be cast under pressure and at a moment’s notice, rituals require preparation, costly components, and time—these are effects that must wait for a quiet moment before you call on their power. Rituals are used for effects you cannot accomplish in other ways. Looking upon a creature from afar, traveling halfway across the world with a few steps, speaking with distant friends, leaving behind a mouth to speak your message: these are all capabilities that rituals offer. Some rituals supply the abilities of absent comrades, such as magically opening locks or sensing secret doors. Using them in such a way, however, is rarely your first choice; letting the rogue pick the lock is the cheaper and faster option. Some powers that will be familiar from past editions of the game now reside in rituals. Enduring illusions, for example—from false walls to goblins made from nothing but trickery—are rituals. You can also summon a prepared treasure chest full of gear (or empty, to fill it with treasure), or create a floating disk to carry your loot. Essentially a ritual is a combination of magical effects (spells) that are unified to create an outcome greater than the component spells used in its completion. Ritual Types Rituals fall into one of Many categories: *'Creation Rituals (Arcana or Divine):' These rituals are used to craft magic items and other special objects. *'Deception (Arcana):' Deception rituals cloak reality behind various facades *'Divination (Arcana, Nature, or '''Divine'):' These rituals provide advice, information, or guidance. *'Exploration (Arcana, Nature, or Divine):' A catch-all category, exploration rituals include a variety of effects useful in everyday adventuring. *'Restoration (Nature, or '''Divine): These rituals remove ill effects from the living or bring back the dead. *'Scrying (Arcana):' Scrying rituals let the caster spy on locations, objects, or creatures. *'Travel (Arcana):' Travel rituals transport characters from one place, or plane, to another. *'Warding Rituals (Arcana):' These rituals provide various forms of protection Rituals are complex ceremonies that create magic effects. You don’t memorize or prepare a ritual; a ritual is so long and complex that no one could ever commit the whole thing to memory. To perform a ritual, you need to read from a book or a scroll containing it. Performing a Ritual There are two types of Rituals, Soliary and Concert. ''Solitary Rituals Solitary Rituals require only one caster to perform. To perform a ritual that you have mastered, you spend a certain amount of time (specified in the ritual description) performing various actions appropriate to the ritual. The actions might include reading long passages out of the ritual book, scribing complex diagrams on the ground, burning special incense or sprinkling mystic reagents at appropriate times, or performing a long set of meticulous gestures. The specific activities required aren’t described in most ritual descriptions; they’re left to your imagination. A ritual requires certain esoteric components, which you purchase before you perform the ritual and which are expended when the ritual is complete. Each ritual specifies the cost of the components you need. If a ritual requires a skill check, the check usually determines the ritual’s effectiveness. Even if the check result is low, a ritual usually succeeds, but if the result is high, you can usually achieve better effects. Concert Rituals Some rituals require or are greatly enhanced by having others help with the mana requirements. This is often the case when it comes to more potent rituals. Each Concert Ritual has two components: The '''Conductor' and the Chorus. *The Conductor is the person who leads the ritual and it is by their success or failure that the ritual is judged. *The Chorus are those casters who are lending their energy to the process. Ritual Level Rituals, like spells, are organized by level. The level of the spell is always one higher than the highest level spell used in its construction. See also: Rituals by Level Example: A ritual with three, level 1 spells would be a level 2 Ritual. Casting Cost The energy cost for any ritual is the number of spells within the ritual multiplied by one plus their average level. The energy required for any ritual must be channeled continuously for the duration of the ritual. Any deviation in the amount of energy cast will cause the ritual to fail and the process must start again. Example: A ritual with three, level 1 spells would cost only 6 energy (Mana, Faith, Vitas). 3 X (1+1)=6 A ritual with three, level 2 spells would cost only 9 energy (Mana, Faith, Vitas). 3 X (1+2)=9 The cost of energy of a given ritual may be distributed amongst the Chorus. See Concert Rituals above. The energy contributed by the chorus must be channeled by the Conductor. Though they have more energy being directed into the ritual it is a slow process and can not be rushed. Casting Time Casting any ritual occures in a number of stages equal to the number of spells being cast within the ritual. For each spell the conductor (and possibly the chorus) must complete the following three steps. Each spell represents one stage in the ritual's completion. The First Step is the Invocation whereby the conductor draws energy into their body. The Second Step is the Focusing whereby the conductor focuses the spell about to be cast. The Third Step is the Channeling where by the conductor channels the drawn energy into the spell for this stage. Each step requires one round per level of spell being cast. Example: '''If the first stage of the ritual is casting a level 2 spell, each step lasts 2 rounds. At each Stage the caster must perform a concentration check (DC = 10+Highest Spell Level) to continue the ritual. Rituals, then, can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. '''Scenario A wizard wishes to perform the ritual, Enchant Item, Simple . He is going to enchant a ring with a simple spell, Feather Fall. He will, by virtue of the ritual, be casting the same spell three times. As there is only one spell within this ritual there is only one Stage and therefore only one concentration check required. Casting Modifiers Casting a Ritual can be modified by the following preparations Component Modifiers Casting a Ritual can be modified by the following preparations Known Rituals *Arcane Rituals *Divine Rituals *Necromantic Rituals *Druidic Rituals *Infernal Rituals Ritual List Category:Ritual Category:Spells Category:Magic